Source: Pero refused to honor hero

Ward 4 Alderman Walter Pero refused to sign a citation honoring Congressional Medal of Honor recipient and this year’s Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshall Thomas G. Kelley because of a past political dispute, said a source close to the Board of Aldermen today.

The source said Kelley once fired Pero from a position in former Governor Paul Cellucci’s administration because Pero had been campaigning for a Democrat. Thus, Pero refused to sign Kelley’s citation or even be in the chambers when Kelley spoke last night, said the source.

Kelley is the secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and a decorated Vietnam War veteran. He is one of only 106 living Congressional Medal of Honor recipients.